PtGen, a Prototype Generator for Turbo Pascal programs, is a full featured program intended to help you to quickly produce programs, prototypes. A prototype is saved to disk in TP-unit source code format. PtGen can read such a file back for additional editting. H
It's assumed that you are familiar with Turbo Pascal type helpscreens.
You can learn about the Prototype Generator by following the build-in tutorials, by using this on-line Help system and by consulting the manual. 2
Choose any of the following for more information p
Product
features
Machine
requirements
Contacting
Nederware
PtGen's
hot-keys
Mouse
operation
Product featurs
Product features:
build-in tutorials to become quickly
acquainted with PtGen
quickly making the most advanced menu
structures, including complete helptext
support
creating of a statusbar
comfortably creating of dialogboxes
3D TVTool support
Machine requirements
What you need:
Borland or Turbo Pascal 7.0
Turbo Vision (included with TP 7.0)
enough knowlegde of both
the TVTool package if you want to use the
3D views
Contact the author
You can contact Berend de Boer from Nederware, the author of this program by using one of the following electronic addresses: Q
fidonet: 2:281/527.23
email: berend@beard.nest.nl
compuserve: 100120,3121
or by regular mail (until August 1994): P
Nederware
c/o Berend de Boer
Burgerstaaat 22
5311 CX GAMEREN
HOLLAND
PtGen's hot-keys
Operation of PtGen is consistent throughout the program.
Alt-F5 Pop-up local position menu for
positioning the current object
Alt-F10 Pop-up local menu
Ctrl-F7 Delete current object/item
Ctrl-F8 Edit current object/item
Ctrl-F9 Link other objects to current object
Ins Insert an item
Del Delete an item
See also mouse
operation
Ptgen
Mouse operation in PtGen
Left button Click on background to pop up
the local menu
Right button Click on object to pop up a
menu with actions you can
apply to that object or item.
Sometimes no menu exist and
the right button click goes
directly into the edit mode
for this object.
See also hot
Ptgen
TVTool
The TVTool 2.0 package contains among others 3D widgets for Turbo Vision. J
If you have TVTool you can use PtGen to design complete 3D dialog boxes. q
The author of TVTool is Richard Hansen and he can be reached at compuserve as 70242,3367 or by regular mail at: 3
PO Box 18571
Saint Paul, MN 55118-0571
USA
[ OK ]
Choose this button to confirm this dialog box. K
If this is the default button, you only need to press Enter to choose it.
[ Cancel ]
If you choose Cancel, nothing changes and no action occurs, but the dialog box is put away. W
Esc is always a keyboard shortcut for Cancel even if a Cancel button does not appear.
[ Yes ]
Press Y for Yes, or click the Yes button, to continue the initiated action.
[ No ]
Press N for No, or click the No button, to cancel the initiated action.
File (Alt-F)
The File menu offers choices for opening and
loading existing files, creating new files,
saving files, and exiting PtGen.
Edit (Alt-E)
Edit a new or a loaded application. You may also press Edit (Ctrl-F8).
App (Alt-A)
Set application options like application name, language (dutch or english), if it uses help, etc.
File
Open (F3)
Load a previously saved application. Q
PtGen only accepts source code that conforms entirely to the source it creates. [
You can edit the source code, but be carefull not to introduce not-PtGen compatible code.
File
New creates a new application. You are prompted to specify characteristics of this new application.
File
Save (F2)
The Save command saves the application to disk.
If the file has no name, PtGen opens the Save File As dialog box so you can rename the file and save it in a different directory or on a different drive.
File
Exit (Alt-X)
The Exit command exits PtGen, removes it from memory, and returns you to DOS. `
If you've modified a source file without saving it, PtGen prompts you to do so before exiting.
Enter the name of the application. Omit the proceeding 'T' (convention of Turbo Pascal) as PtGen will add a T to every objectname when writing the source file. T
The name you enter will become the name of the application object you will create.
Default language
When you choose the default language option (the default) you use DEFAULT.TVR and DEFAULT.TXT.
Copy ENGLISH.TVR or DUTCH.TVR to DEFAULT.TVR when you create only or mostly english or dutch applications. In this manner you don't have to change this option everytime you create a new application.
You can use the default language option to use a different language
too. Create a DEFAULT.TVR and DEFAULT.TXT containing the strings and texts in the language you wish.
English language
Use the english language for this application. t
The file ENGLISH.TVR will be used as the base file for STRINGS.TVR, the string resource file for this application.
Dutch language
Maak gebruik van de nederlandse taal voor deze applicatie. q
De file DUTCH.TVR zal worden gebruikt als basis voor STRINGS.TVR, de string resource file voor deze applicatie.
Settings
Change dialog box settings like its name and title.
Listviewer
Place a dummy listviewer on this dialog box. The created code can be changed by pressing the code button in the listviewer edit dialog box.
Spinbutton
Place a spinbutton (one line radiobutton) on its owner.
Radiobuttons
Place a radiobutton view on its owner.
Checkboxes
Place a Checkboxes view on its owner.
Memo
Place a memo view on its owner.
Label
Label an already inserted view. After you have specified the labeled text, you should select the view to be labeled. e
Select that view by clicking on it with the mouse button or using Tab/Shift-Tab and pressing Enter.
Static text
Place text on its owner.
Button
Create a button yourself.
Buttons
Place a button on the current dialog box. Choose between user defined and predefined as OK or Cancel.
You are prompted to specify a string resource file (.TVR) and a identifier file (.PAS or .INC). ~
The strings from in the resource file should be saved as 'Strings'. The strings are copied into the current string resource. >
The identifiers are copied into the current identifier file. T
In this way you can quickly merge different string resources and identifier files.
App configuration
Specify configuration settings for the application you are creating.
Code
Change the generated code for this view. You can change both the code that will be generated in the constructor of its owner and the code that will be generated in the record for its owner.
Range validator
A range validator checks the input the user types and restricts it to longints only which should be between the specified Min and Max value.
Inputline
Access to various inputlines, as the standard TInputLine and the PtGen TXInputLine
PtGen now supports the TbxXXXXLine inputlines. They are part of TVTool and you need TVTool to be able to compile the resulting program.
Validator
Add a validator to an already inserted inputline. You can choose between different validators. L
Select a validator, next select the inputline which needs to be validated.
Note that already existing validators are disposed. The Validator option is meant to change the validation of an inputline or to upgrade inputlines of previous versions of PtGen.
Enter the name of the source helptext file for this application. Usually this will be something like MYHELP.TXT. K
You should call TVHC to convert this file to the corresponding .HLP file.
Specify size of the editorbuffer in paragraphs (1 paragraph = 16 bytes). D
Usually a value of 2 000 will suffice (16 x 2 000 = 32 000 bytes).
(System) menu (Alt-Spacebar)
The System menu appears on the far left of the menu bar and is represented by the
(.txt)